Around 100 staff at Edinburgh St James construction site hit by pay cuts of up to 30 per cent

The construction company employs around 700 staff at the St James Centre.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Construction giants Laing O’Rourke have announced pay cuts of between 20 and 30 per cent to staff across the country.

It will mean around 100 staff at the Edinbugh St James centre construction site, which Laing O’Rourke is the main contractor, are affected by the move.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The cut will hit all engineering and management staff, but will not affect the construction workforce.

The construction site of the new St James' Shopping Centre that is being built in Edinburgh city centre, during the coronavirus outbreak.The construction site of the new St James' Shopping Centre that is being built in Edinburgh city centre, during the coronavirus outbreak.
The construction site of the new St James' Shopping Centre that is being built in Edinburgh city centre, during the coronavirus outbreak.

At the St James site, which employs around 700 people, one in seven will see their pay decrease.

The rest of the workforce will be furloughed, a company spokesman confirmed to the Evening News, which exclusively reported that construction had stopped at the site last week.

He said: “As we deal with the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis, we are seeking to treat all our employees fairly and protect the jobs we sustain.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“That’s why we have, regrettably, taken the decision to introduce a temporary pay cut for all our engineering and management staff with immediate effect.

“This affects approximately 100 of the 700 people who, until the suspension last week, were working on ESJ.

“Our construction workforce is not impacted by the staff pay cut. The construction workforce on suspended projects will enter furlough to avoid redundancies and we will bring them back to work as soon as projects resume.”

Laing O’Rourke’s chief executive Ray O’Rourke likened the coronavirus crisis to a “war effort”, Construction News reported.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said: “This is the equivalent to a war effort and we’re introducing temporary measures which will be kept under review as we battle the impacts of COVID-19. We appreciate that this situation is extremely difficult for our people and should not last any longer than the current crisis dictates.

“Once the business determines that the current crisis is over, we will seek to reinstate people’s salaries and roles.

“These measures are regrettable but essential if we are to get through this period, and then emerge strongly as a pillar to help rebuild the UK economy and our communities.”

On Monday the firm confirmed senior staff would see a pay reduction of 30 per cent, and confirmed today that other staff salaries will be reduced by between 20 and 25 per cent depending on their pay grade.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.